Celebrity Chef Celestino Drago's Lobster Spaghetti

Chef #347422's Note:

I started working with Celestino a few months ago and started compiling some of his recipes for a food blog. I tried this one at home and aside from the splitting of the lobster, I absolutely loved it.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 6 ounces spaghetti
• 1 (1 ½ lb) spiny lobsters
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped shallot
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon brandy
• 3 ounces fresh tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• salt
• chili flakes
• ½ cup vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Cut lobster in two (length wise), under running water and remove dark membrane from inside the head. In a sauté pan, add garlic, shallots, chili flakes, olive oil and lobster. Sauté for a few minutes; add white wine and brandy. Let evaporate then add tomato, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. In a pot with boiling salted water cook spaghetti al denté about 6 minutes. Drain and add to sauce. Let pasta cook into sauce for about 1-2 minutes. Add parsley and the extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

Reviews

[Sauce Lover]

I'm rating this 5 stars, however, I did make some changes as it wasn't really coming together the way the recipe reads. It says to evaporate the white wine and the brandy, but by then the lobster is already cooked through. I removed the lobster pieces to keep them from overcooking and then I went to the next step. After cooking for 5 minutes as stated it was a thin, watery texture with no flavor at all. I added 4 tablespoons of butter and some heavy cream, more salt, some cayenne and I let that simmer trying to thicken it up. Was better, but still not great. Then I added some shredded cheese, the Quattro Formaggio cheese blend from Trader Joes which I have around to make pizza with. Added about 3/4 cup of that and melted it slowly over low heat. Then I spooned sauce over pasta, topped with warm lobster chunks and added touch more cheese on top. Turns out great, but not the way the recipe reads. Will make again, but will follow these directions next time.Update 5/09 I didn't cook the lobster in the sauce as I stated above that then it gets too chewy. I used lobster broth instead of the vegetable broth to give it more depth and I also added about 2 oz. of tomato paste in addition to the 3 oz. of fresh tomato puree that the recipe calls for. Other than that, I followed my previous instructions to make this pasta.